A masters journey
by Mylifeisajoke
Summary: Ash starts his journey to become a Pokemon master at the age of 14 rather than 10. What difference will 4 years of studying at Professor Oaks laboratory make when Ash sets out on his journey. And what will happen when Ash isn't so clueless about the opposite gender. AshXHarem, Powerful and Smart Ash.
1. Chapter 1 It begins

Authors note: First Pokemon story. Hopefully it will be good. Loosely following cannon however Ash isn't an idiot when he starts out. In this modified universe, where you have to be 14 rather than 10 to begin your journey means that Ash is a much more intelligent trainer when he starts out and has much more knowledge of pokemon and how to be a trainer. Not sticking to each pokemon having 4 moves and ash will catch all lots more pokemon that he does in cannon. This will Follow Ash's journey in hopefully all of the different generations. Probably going to be a harem fic, with lemons.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Prologue:

The looming figure of the man sat bathed in shadow as he faced the three trembling goons in front of him. His lips twitched into a cruel snarl as the thee "agents" of his trembled from simply being in his presence. He was yet to say a word, still savouring the effect he had on the scum in front of him still loving the looks of fear in their eyes. Deciding to induce even more trauma in them he finally broke his silence.

"So, what happened this time?" He growled in his most intimidating voice grinning once again as they all simultaneously jumped in fright at his sudden end to the silence.

"B-boss i'm afraid we kinda um…. we kinda failed see we kinda lost all of our poke balls when that Dragonite you sent us to capture blasted us off with a hyper beam." The blue haired man that had managed to stammer out that pathetic excuse immediately retreated back to the safety of his comrades upon uttering it, and was just in time as a large white paw viciously swiped

at the air he had just been occupying.

The large white lion roared its name as it continued to advance towards the three cowering goons. **_Perrrrrsian._** The three were now cowering slightly further away from the man who was now laughing maniacally still covered by the shadows. He decided to finally call off his fierce pokemon as he noticed the small trickles of liquid dripping down the two humans legs. This set his laughter off again and he decided to kept these three around for a while longer, they always seemed to provide him with amusement.

"You three truly are pathetic you know that?" "You lost all of the pokemon that I supplied to you and failed to even capture one lousy dragonite?" "Why do I even keep you on the payroll I will never know." "But because you continue to amuse me I have decided to give you another chance."

He produced a photograph along with two pokebals from his coat pocket, and the light glinted off of his teeth as his shark like grin showed itself once more. I am granting you three this Ekans and Koffing as the final pokemon I will ever give you. Fail me again and lose them and I will kill you."

"Y-y-ye..Yes sir!" The three all weakly replied giving him a half hearted salute with quivering grinned once more and gave them their final command." Go explore the Kanto region keeping on the lookout for extraordinary pokemon reporting in whenever you find anything of interest." "Try to not get yourselves killed or lose the pokemon i have given you. And feel free to try catching any other pokemon you feel could aid you in your quest to actually prove yourselves not completely useless."

The three nodded and backed away to the door quickly opening it to turn tail and run. As the three misfits bolted out the door and away from their boss's headquarters as fast as they could. With the threat of death upon failure prominent in all of their minds. Followed by the heartless maniacal laughter of the man in the room behind them. The man in question was now contemplating the vastly more important issues of the numerous other projects and agents that were far more critical to his master plan. He picked up his phone and dialled the number of one of the most important parts of the plan.

"Hello. Why yes I am doing fine, i'm just calling to inquire as to how is our latest little project is coming along? I trust you have made lots of progress?."

"Why yes, I can say that we have made astounding progress and are very close to our goal" came the muffled reply. 'Good." "Keep me updated and keep up the good work" He said before hanging up the phone and returning to his contemplations.

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Chapter 1. It begins.

The delicious smell of bacon and pancakes drifted through the room of 14 year old Ash Ketchums room as he was roused from his sleep by a blaring alarm. He groaned and reluctantly allowed himself to be roused from slumber. Rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out of them and scratching the back of his unruly mop of spicy black hair he dragged himself from his bed to begin his normal morning routine for the last time. he stumbled into his bathroom and let the warm water of his shower wash away the last of the grogginess caused by his sleep. As the warm water rolled down his fairly fit body his mind was in overdrive as it eagerly awaited the main event of today. The start of his pokemon journey, and the chance of getting his very own pokemon. He had trained with Professor oak at the laboratory near his house for the past 4 years, working along with all of the starter pokemon available to him to choose as his first, but he was still unable to decide which one he would choose. All of them had their strengths and weaknesses, and all of them would be a good choice in their own way.

A Bulbasaur would provide powerful utility to his team with its status affecting abilities and wide skill move, it was also a very strong grass type in its final evolutionary state of Venasaur. He knew a Bulbasaur would be a good choice. And yet so would the other two. A Squirtle would be a powerful all-rounder with strong defensive capabilities as well as powerful water type attacks, but as strong as the two of them were, Ash found himself leaning towards picking the fire type of the group. A fire type was almost always guaranteed to be a powerful pokemon, and a Charmander could become one of the most powerful fire types of all. He believed that a Charmander would be the best starter for him, providing very powerful offensive moves and being an all round tough little pokemon. Having finally made up his mind on his starter, Ash was pulled from his musings as the water in the shower had turned cold. He yelped and jumped out of the shower to get changed and farewell his childhood room.

He towelled himself off and started getting dressed. He pulled on a snug pair of dark jeans, a black undershirt and a blue coat with white sleeves and a white collar. Finishing his look with his trademark red cap and pulling it down over his face to cover his face in shadow trembling with excitement. He was almost ready to burst when his mothers melodic voice drifted into the room from down stairs. "Aaaaash, Breakfast is ready dear". His face lit up at the prospect of food and he followed the smell of freshly cooked pancakes down to the kitchen in a trance like state.

His mum cheerfully greeted him as he entered the room and started giving him a pep talk for the beginning of his journey. She asked him for what seemed like the millionth time which starter he was going to choose and this time he could finally give her a definitive answer. She was overjoyed at his choice in charmander, and began recounting a story from her time traveling around Kanto and some Charmander that she had once met. He sweat dropped and tried blocking her out while still shovelling pancakes into his mouth and trying to drink his glass of orange juice. His mother realising that he was no longer listening gave him a kind hearted tap on the head, scolding him for being rude. He just looked at her and grinned. It was time for him to start his journey at long last. he had studied for 4 years and was entirely ready for the next stage of his life. So he stood up, kissed his mums cheek and walked out the door waving at her and saying his goodbyes. Ignoring the cry of "change your underwear every day" and plastering his grin on his face and turning around to wave goodbye to his mother and childhood home for the last time in a long while. He then turned and headed up the hill to the pokemon laboratory and the beginning of his journey to become a pokemon master.

he arrived at the laboratory with 15 minutes to spare and leaned on the fence to wait for the professor to let him in and give him his first pokemon. He was still leaning against the fence when the high pitched and nasally voice of his fiercest rival grated against his ears. "Hey Ashy-boy i'm surprised you actually showed up on time, who would have thought you could be punctual for once." Gary sneered and then burst into laughter at his own insult. His ever present cheer squad started chanting his name joining in laughing at the insult. Ash however was used to comments like that by now, having hung around Gary almost all of his life at the Laboratory. The close proximity to another boy aspiring to be a pokemon master had inevitably caused the two to butt heads on numerous occasions. And had eventually lead to a fierce rivalry, which was about to become a lot fiercer as Gary and Ash would soon have a medium in which to actually fight through their soon to be acquired starters. And so, long used to the insulting greetings thrown at him by Gary, Ash promptly ignored him and closed his eyes to continue waiting for the professor to open the lab.

And as if on queue, the gates rattled open and the kindly old voice of professor Oak invited the soon to be trainers into his lab. Ash opened his eyes and grinned at Gary before following the professor into the lab with Gary hot on his heels. As they entered the familiar setting of the lab Ash was excited to finally get to own one of the pokemon he had been working with for years, but he was also sad that he would probably not be seeing the lab again for a long time after he left. He decided to focus on the positives and was once more overwhelmed with excitement. He was quivering as the professor reached his desk and turned to face the two young trainers.

"Now Ash, Gary. It is good to see that you are both punctual for once today" This earned a sweat drop from both of them and a chuckle from the professor before he continued. "Unfortunately, you are both a day late to start your journey. The majority of the young trainers from Pallet started yesterday. And because of this I only have two pokemon to offer you. The only normal starter that I have left is this squritle" he said as he pressed the button on a poke ball and a small blue turtle materialised from the inside of the ball. _Squirrrtllle!_ it exclaimed as it laid eyes upon it two potential new owners. Gary's eyes immediately lit up, and in the blink of an eye squirrels poke ball was in his hand and Professor Oak was transferring ownership of the water type starter to his grandson. Ash grumbled at the blatant family favouritism, but wasn't too bothered, as he preferred Charmander and could still hopefully get a Charmander from the last remaining starter pokemon in professor Oaks possession.

Gary accepted his poked from professor Oak and with one last sneer at Ash he bolted for the door to get a head start on Ash. Sighing once more at the favouritism, but not really blaming the old professor for it Ash turned to look at the man. "So professor, can I have my starter yet? Please tell me its a Charmander." "Hmm, well Ash unfortunately I do not have a Charmander here for you." Ash sighed once again and hung his head in disappointment. Hopefully the pokemon he did have left would be just as good, but he had his doubts. "I do however have this Pokemon for you to have." He said as he released a small yellow rodent looking pokemon with long floppy ears and a zigzag shaped tail. _Chaaa_ it exclaimed as it took in its surroundings, and the tall looking trainer with unruly black hair and a hat standing in front of him looking on expectedly. "Hmm, a Pikachu. Not exactly a conventional starter, but its an electric type so it could become very strong. Plus it has the advantage over Gary's Squirtle." "Now I know its an unexpected starter for you Ash, but truthfully I was saving this pokemon specifically for you." "But why professor? Why would you save this Pikachu just for me?"

The professor chuckled before saying " Well you see Ash, I see the most potential in you out of any of the budding new trainers from Pallet. I believe you will surpass them all, even my Grandson Gary. And this Pikachu will be the ideal starting pokemon for you on your journey to become a Pokemon master. I believe that it will be your most loyal friend on your journey and will become a very strong pokemon in no time!"

"Really? Cool!." "Alright Professor, ill take Pikachu gladly." Ash exclaimed. He then turned and knelt down next to the small pokemon to look into its eyes. He offered his hand for Pikachu to sniff and slowly extending his hand to scratch it behind its ears. This earned a happy squeal from Pikachu, who then promptly leapt onto Ash's shoulder and licking him on his cheek. Ash grinned at his new partner and turned back to professor Oak. And upon noticing the startled look on the mans face asked what was wrong. Oak stammered that he was surprised at how quickly Pikachu had warmed to Ash, and that normally Pikachu would shock anyone other than Oak that tried touching it. Ash just grinned at this and looked back at Pikachu who just tilted his head and squeaked his name. "Well i'm glad you decided i don't deserve to be shocked on sight Pikachu. I hope that we can become best buds and partners soon. I know that together we can both become really strong." Ash said as he reached over to scratch Pikachu's ears once again.

"Well it truly is good to see that you two are already getting along so well Ash. But before you go to start on your journey I have a few more things to give you as well as some advice. First of all, here is you Pokedex, Dexter. It can provide information on any pokemon you see such as its type, gender traits and characteristics. It can even show you the moves of some wild pokemon which can be great at helping you find the strongest wild pokemon to catch. Your Pokedex will be one of your most useful assets on your Journey, as well as wing your identification. use it well." Oak handed the small red device to Ashe who began examining it as Oak continued. " Next I'm going to give you a supply of poke balls, potions and antidotes to help get you started on your journey and help with catching new pokemon. And finally, I have already taken the liberty of programming your poke balls to transfer any excess pokemon from your team to my laboratory when you catch them. This will allow me to research them and look after them for you while you travel. I can also help you with their training and take care of any eggs that may be made. And if you ever want to trade out any of the pokemon in your party to my lab or vice versa, you can simply contact me from any pokemon centre and I will gladly switch around your party.

Ash grinned at this news and thanked the professor for all of his help. he was about to wave goodbye and set out after Gary, when the professors voice wrong out again. "Now Ash, one last thing before you leave. Catch lots of pokemon, and make them really strong, girls love that!" He said giving Ash a cheeky smile and grinning at him. The boys face turned red and he turned heal and ran away before the professor could express any more of his perverted ideas. But not without hearing the cry of "Don't forget to use protection!". Now blushing even more furiously he kept running until he reached the edge of his home town. He then turned around and surveyed the place that he had lived for his entire life. He had great memories of the small town and would miss it dearly. But he was extremely excited to be starting his journey at last. And so, he pulled his hat down over his eyes, plastered a grin onto his face again, took one last look at his home, then turned around and walked off to start his journey. Not looking back once.

End of Chapter 1.

Hopefully that was a good intro for the story. I hope to make this pretty long story, and follow ash's journey at least until the end of the Sinnoh League, I will follow the main cannon storyline but with my own twist. Ash will be a lot smarter, and actually have strategy in all of his battles. He will catch lots more pokemon than cannon, and they will be rotated regularly. I plan on making this a harem fic, and the girls will most likely be Misty, May, Dawn and Zoe. And well, hopefully I can make this a pretty good story in the future.


	2. Chapter 2 The flock

Author Note: I'm not sure whether I will have Ash meet May and Dawn early in his journey. Maybe I'll have him meet them at some point in Kanto before he goes to the other regions. But i'm not sure yet. But anyway, this chapter Ash will catch a few Pokemon and meet Misty.

Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon.

Chapter 2. The flock.

The bright morning sun lit up the clear blue sky as Ash began his journey away from his home town. He was in high spirits and was walking along using his new pokedex to scan the area around him for his first chance at catching a new pokemon. It didn't take long before he found his first wild pokemon. The pokedex ran out telling him that a small Pidgey was hiding in the shrubbery to his right. Deciding to test all of the pokedex's features, Ash scanned the Pidgey for its list of moves, and finding that it only had the basic move set for a low level Pidgey he continued walking. He would accept nothing but the best pokemon for his team.

He continued on down the trail, talking to Pikachu and commenting on the new and foreign surroundings he found himself in. The sun rose further in the sky as Ash made good progress on his way towards Viridian city. That was until he was broken from his thoughts by his pokedex chiming out with another pokemon in the area. He had discovered a button that made it constantly scan his surroundings for wild pokemon and alert him when it found any. And so when it alerted him that a Spearow with the ability to use arial ace was perched in a tree to the right of the road. He knew that Spearow evolved pretty soon after they learned aerial ace, and the prospect of having a strong spearow and soon an even stronger Fearow excited Ash greatly. So Ash ordered Pikachu to jump off his shoulder and engage the wild spearow so that he could catch it.

Alright Pikachu. Lets start things off with a **thundershock** Go! The small mouse yelled its name and released a small, but powerful electrical shock that zapped the unsuspecting bird before it could react. The now crispy bird plummeted like a stone from its perch in the tree, landing with a thud on the ground. Ash was about to throw a Pokeball when it shook itself off and with an angry shriek started flying towards Pikachu as fast as it could, with a blue aura forming around it. It was still gaining speed as it raced towards Pikachu. The yellow mouse was tended and ready for action as it awaited its trainers command. "OK Pikachu, dodge quickly and then counter with another thundershock." Pikachu did just that, dodging nimbly to the side and once the bird had passed him letting out another small but even more powerful than before blast of electricity. This one did the job properly. Fearow was fried even more than before and fell with a thud to the ground unconscious. Ash took his chance and threw a Pokeball. Eagerly waiting as it glowed white three times and clicked. Signifying the capture of his first Pokemon. He cheered and high fives his partner before walking over to the pokeball that contained his second pokemon and clipping it to his belt. He reminded himself to take spearow to the Pokemon centre once he reached Viridian city to be healed and continued on his way. That was until, his pokedex began chiming of the name spearow multiple times in quick succession. He curiously glanced around looking for the source of the multiple spearow. And upon looking behind him was shocked and scared at the sight he was greeted with. A very large flock of over 30 Spearow was in the distance, they all looked angry and were heading directly for him and Pikachu.

He burst out running for Viridian as fast as he could, but after a minute he began to realise that running was not at option. The spearow were much faster than he could ever hope to be. So he stopped and resigned to his fate. "Pikachu, you have to run. There are way too many of them for you to take alone. And its me they want. Save yourself and run now!" Pikachu just looked at him like an idiot. Although they couldn't communicate, Ash knew that Pikachu wasn't about to leave his trainer to be pecked to pieces by some mangy birds. It turned to face the incoming flock with sparks flying from its cheeks. The first of the spearow to reach pikachu was met with a powerful shock that sent it spiralling down into the ground. This only seemed to anger the rest of the flock as around 10 Spearow instantly broke off from the flock and flew straight at pikachu with sharp beaks glistening in the sun. Alright pikachu use thundershock, but split it off in an arc so that it hits all of these stupid birds. Pikachu complied, and as it shot yet another thundershock from its cheeks, the bolt splintered off and hit all of the approaching spearow at the same time and knocking them all out as well.

Pikachu was now beginning to show signs of fatigue. It was panting loudly and could only perform another one or two attacks like that before it was at its limit. And Ash knew it. He was biding his time, waiting for more spearow to break off so that he could take them out like the last group. But they seemed to have realised that breaking up would make them easier targets and were sticking together, while circling the young trainer and his partner. Ash and Pikachu had already taken out over half of the flock, and this had enraged them even more. They suddenly all stopped circling and dived straight at the two figures on the ground below them. Squawking up a storm and defending on the two with talons raised and peaks pointed. Pikachu set of two more thundershocks that splintered off again like before jumping from spearow to spearow and knocking all of them out. As the birds began falling to the ground Ash turned to congratulate Pikachu, but was only greeted with a weak squeak as Pikachu was now completely drained. However Ash knew that Pikachu had just gained lots of valuable experience and would be much stronger from now on. The pokedex pinged once more to signify Ash that Pikachu could now use thunderbolt which was a more powerful electric type attack than thundershock and would be very useful in the future.

Knowing that Pikachu hated being inside his Pokeball, Ash decided to carry him the rest of the way to Viridian and the nearest Pokemon centre. he cradled his started in his arms and looked around at the piles of unconscious spearow littering the ground around them. Deciding not to let the opportunity to catch another powerful spearow go to waste he began scanning all of them to see if any of them were as strong as the one he had already caught. He eventually found what looked to be the stingiest one. It knew both Aerial ace and Steel wing as well as the stock standard peck, quick attack and growl. So Ash tapped another Pokeball on the unconscious bird and clipped it to his belt along with the other one. He cradled Pikachu in his arms again and started walking the rest of the way to Viridian. The town was in sight on the horizon as Ash followed a small river towards it. Pikachu had recovered slightly from its battle with the spearow earlier and no longer needed to be carried, instead opting to perch once again on Ash's shoulder. The pokedex once again rang out this time signifying the presence of a Starmie. Ash knew that there was no way a wild Starmie could be found in route 1, and was curious as to what it was doing here. However he couldn't see any sign of the Starmie and assumed it was simply hiding in the river. Pikachu was still tired so he decided not to pursue the pokemon and conned walking towards the town.

He was startled when once again his Pokedex chimed with an unusual Pokemon for this area. It claimed that there were 3 Fearow, the evolved form of Spearow in the area. That didn't sound good to Ash. He turned around and was scared by the sight of more fierce looking birds closing in on him for the second time that day. He yelled and began sprinting towards the town, knowing that Pikachu couldn't defeat all three of the powerful birds in his weakened state. He also knew that he probably wouldn't make it to the town in time and just hoped that someone would be able to help him before the birds ran him and Pikachu through.

Luckily for him, his yell had been heard. And someone nearby was on the way to help. As he kept running for the town Ash could hear the heavy wing beats closing in on him and the shrill shrieks of the giant birds following him. Now he knew for sure that he wouldn't be able to make it. Resigning to his fate, the only thing he could think to do was save Pikachu. So he kneeled down on the floor shielding his new partner from the immanent attack with his own body and awaited the pain that was to come.

"Starmie, **Water Gun.** Now!" A torrent of water promptly blasted the three Fearow in the face sending them flying squawking back the way they came from. Ash was surprised that the bloodthirsty birds had given up so easily, but wasn't about to complain. He gratefully turned to his saviour and was startled at the sight. A young girl, around his age was looking at him curiously. She had short red hair pulled into a ponytail and large blue eyes full of concern. Her yellow shirt revealed her long slender arms and great figure. And her short blue jeans were held up by red suspenders. They showed off her shapely legs and budding womanly figure. A blush formed on Ash's face as he realised how pretty his rescuer was. "What are you doing still down there on the ground? And how come those Fearow wanted to kill you so badly? And why are you out here all alone?"

Ash put up his hands in defeat with a grin. "Woah, woah. One question at a time. And before I answer any questions at least let me thank you for saving me" He got to his feet and grinned at the girl before extending his hand to her. She took it in her own and shook it before Introducing herself as Misty Waterflower. She had also just started her own journey to become the worlds greatest water type trainer. "Nice to meet you Misty, I'm Ash Ketchum from pallet town. Thanks so much for saving me, I really thought I was a goner there."

"It's no problem Ash, I couldn't just let a fellow trainer get killed could I."

"True, but still thanks. Its always nice to be saved by a pretty girl like you" He said with a grin. This time it was Misty's turn to blush at the complement, and she turned away to hide it from the admittedly attractive boy she had just saved. "Thanks Ash, but I'm really nothing special."

"Now can you tell me what you did to piss off those Fearow so much?" At this Ash grinned once more and rubbed the back of his head. "Well I'm not too sure really, I did catch a Spearow earlier, and then i was attacked by a flock of like 40 more spearow but my Pikachu managed to take all of them out. I guess those Fearow just wanted revenge because I took out the rest of their flock."

"Wow! You're saying that your tiny little Pikachu took out 40 Spearow on its own! Thats incredible!" She crouched down next to Pikachu and scratched his ears "But he's so cute, how can he be that strong as well."She pouted. "Well I just started my Journey from Pallet town this morning, and we've only been together for a day, but I can tell that he's a really powerful little pokemon."

"Wow thats so cool Ash the two of you could become really strong one day by the looks of it."

"Well thats the plan, To be a Pokemon Master!" he exclaimed with a thumbs up and a grin causing her to sweatdrop.

"Well I hope you manage that, although theres no way you'll become a master before I become the worlds greatest water type trainer." She boasted puffing out her chest and sticking her tongue out. Ash grinned at her boasting and decided to ask her where she was headed, hoping that she might want to travel with him for a while at least. "Well Misty, it was really nice to meet you and thanks again for saving me, but I really should get my Pokemon to Viridian city to get healed at the Pokemon centre. So i guess I'll see you around. Unless you'd like to come with me to Viridian."

He waved to the girl before he turned and continued along the road with a grin still on his face and Pikachu on his shoulder once more. Less than a day into his journey and he already had two new pokemon and had been saved by one of the prettiest girls he'd ever seen. It was a great start to his journey if he did say so himself. And he was even happier when he heard Misty's voice from behind him "Ash, wait. Im done training for the day so sure ill head back to Viridian with you, it its alright with you of course." And upon hearing this Ash's day got even better. "Sure Misty id love the company." He said and turned around to wait for the orange haired girl to catch up. When she had the two began walking towards the town once more, idly chatting until they reached the Pokemon centre.

They both went inside and each ordered a room for the night, Misty then bade Ash goodnight and headed to her room for the night as it was getting late. Ash stayed behind at the counter to get his pokemon healed. He handed Pikachu and his two spearow to the pink haired nurse at the counter who introduced herself as Nurse Joy, and promised to fully heal all of his Pokemon before he needed to leave the following day. And with that taken care of Ash headed to his room to end the first day of his journey to become a Pokemon master.

End of chapter 2.


End file.
